Jason Menayan
Jason is one of the founders of Dyalogues, and loves all sorts of online discussions. He believes that anything that gets people talking does the world a bit of good. Jason has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, and an M.B.A. from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Jason has lived in Israel, the Netherlands, and Poland, and speaks polski, hrvatski and espanol.
Jason enjoys reading about and discussing politics, technology, and philosophy, and has an unusual fascination with nature shows (especially Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel) and infomercials.
- All (51)
- Open (1)
- Completed (50)
All dyalogues with Jason Menayan
2 weeks ago
Kitchen Nightmares (Gordon Ramsay)
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ReviewsStatus:
CompletedUpdated on Mar 04, 2010Famous Scottish chef Gordon Ramsay resuscitates a new failing restaurant every week with his distinct brand of &$%*@ing tough love.
Brooklyn's backyard farms
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InterviewsStatus:
CompletedUpdated on Mar 01, 2010Stacey Murphy founded bk farmyards. She has five years gardening experience in the midwest, and has battled armies of tomato hormworms. bk farmyards is a Brooklyn based decentralized farming network providing local food.
3 weeks ago
A Serious Man (Coen Brothers)
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CompletedUpdated on Feb 23, 2010Joel & Ethan Coen's most recent movie follows Larry Gopnik, a physics professor obsessed with a feeling of impending doom. The movie is set in early 70s Minnesota.
Feb 2010
Google Nexus One (N1)
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ReviewsStatus:
CompletedUpdated on Feb 07, 2010Google unveiled its first branded mobile phone on January 5, 2010, with a novel distribution system: via its site. The HTC-made phone uses Android 2.1 and hosts a bevy of cutting-edge smart phone features.
Is losing weight expensive?
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DebatesStatus:
CompletedUpdated on Feb 05, 2010Americans Aren't Fat Because They Lack Willpower; They're Fat Because They're Broke · Violent Acres
The basis of this discussion. Funny and eerily insightful.Do you have to spend a lot of money on healthy food and personal trainers to get trim and fit?
The Golden Gate (Vikram Seth's novel written in verse)
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CompletedUpdated on Feb 02, 2010Published in 1986 to substantial critical and commercial acclaim, The Golden Gate, written by Vikram Seth, is now, unfortunately, out of print, but can typically be found second-hand or at your local library (I found my copy there).
The novel is set in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area in the mid-80s, but has an unusual twist: it's written entirely in verse (more on that below).
Inspired by Russian author Vladimir Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, the novel comprises 690 tetrameter sonnets. In fact, Seth found Pushkin's novel at a second-hand book sale at Stanford University, where some of the scenes in the novel take place.
Vikram Seth Biography
Vikram Seth was born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1952. His father, Prem, was an executive at a shoe company, and his mother, Laila, was a judge. Vikram has a younger brother and a younger sister.
Seth left India after completing his primary education to study at Oxford University, completing his degree in philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE). Afterwards, he enrolled in graduate school at Stanford University, to pursue a PhD in Economics. Seth was also a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Creative Writing from 1977-1978 at Stanford. Explaining why he never completed his doctorate degree in economics: "never had any passion for economics, not what I felt for writing poetry".
Vikram Seth has published eight notable works - two novels, and six collections of poetry. During the period before and after Seth published his first novel, he contributed poetic works for more than a decade. Seth's books of poetry include Mappings (1980), From Heaven Lake (1983), which discusses a hitchhiking trip through Nepal into India that Seth took while studying in China in the early 1980s, The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985), All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990), Beastly Tales (1991), and Three Chinese Poets (1992).
Nirvana (Burmese fusion cuisine on Castro St in San Francisco)
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CompletedUpdated on Feb 02, 2010Nirvana opened its doors in the mid-1990s in San Francisco's competitive restaurant scene with a "Burmese fusion" menu. With green papaya salad, kamikaze beef, and a host of noodle dishes, Nirvana is still going strong after over 10 years, although it's easier to get a table without considerable wait nowadays.
Ugly Betty - Cancellation ok?
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ReviewsStatus:
CompletedUpdated on Feb 01, 2010Just wanted to talk to someone about the cancellation of Ugly Betty and if they thought it was good timing or bad.
Jan 2010
Avatar (James Cameron, 2009)
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CompletedUpdated on Jan 28, 2010Over a decade in the making, James Cameron's latest cinematic offering makes breakthroughs in special effects, enhanced by full-length 3D.
Dec 2009
Golden Lotus - vegetarian Vietnamese in Oakland
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CompletedUpdated on Dec 27, 2009On the corner of 13th and Franklin, one block from City Center BART, is a popular completely vegetarian Vietnamese joint called Golden Lotus. Run by the followers of "the Supreme Master," the menu features vegetarian versions of a lot of Vietnamese and Chinese mainstays, such as spring rolls, broccoli "beef," and banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe).
